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What is the treatment plan for agoraphobia?
Agoraphobia treatment usually includes both psychotherapy — also called talk therapy — and medicine. It may take some time, but treatment can help you get better. Mental health experts believe that the root of agoraphobia is fear of the physical and mental sensations of anxiety and, often, of panic or of losing control or embarrassing oneself. Don’t Trivialize the Person’s Feelings and Experiences We often hear people with mental health disorders being told to “get over it” or to “toughen up.” This isn’t an effective approach and it can make the situation much more traumatic and frustrating for someone with agoraphobia. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) SSRIs were originally developed to treat depression, but they’ve also proved effective for helping treat other mood disorders, such as anxiety, feelings of panic, and obsessional thoughts. An SSRI called sertraline is usually recommended for people with agoraphobia. Diagnosis of Agoraphobia To meet the DSM-5 criteria for diagnosis, patients must have marked, persistent (≥ 6 months) fear of or anxiety about ≥ 2 of the following situations: Using public transportation. Being in open spaces (eg, parking lot, marketplace) Being in an enclosed place (eg, shop, theater)
What is the first line treatment for agoraphobia?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors SSRIs are typically considered first-choice treatments for agoraphobia. They’re also used to treat depression and anxiety disorders (including panic disorders). A few examples include fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), and escitalopram (Lexapro). Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been shown highly effective in treating panic disorder and agoraphobia. For example, research studies in the United States and England have shown that CBT has an 85-90% success rate over the course of 20-25 sessions. Agoraphobia treatment can be challenging because it means confronting your fears. But with proper treatment — usually a form of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy and medicines — you can escape the trap of agoraphobia and live a more enjoyable life. In the panic disorder/agoraphobia spectrum, several studies appear to converge on effects in the amygdala, ACC, insula, and lateral prefrontal cortex, but also for occipital brain areas. There is a catch-22 in recovery from agoraphobia: you must learn to endure the panic attacks in order to stop having them. This involves finding a goal that is bigger than your anxieties and that is worth enduring the extreme discomfort, like being able to go to dinner with your family, taking a vacation, etc.
What is evidence based therapy for agoraphobia?
Evidence-Based Treatments for Agoraphobia. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the mainstay of therapy for agoraphobia. This approach generally offers lower treatment costs and greater access than other treatment modalities. Exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are the most effective treatments. Exposure therapy focuses on changing your response to the object or situation that you fear. Behavioral therapy techniques use reinforcement, punishment, shaping, modeling, and related techniques to alter behavior. These methods have the benefit of being highly focused, which means they can produce fast and effective results. There is currently no cure for acrophobia, but exposure therapy, a form of psychological therapy, is successful in treating it. Exposure therapy is considered the first-line treatment for specific phobias in general. Medication – various types of medication are used to treat agoraphobia, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to improve mood and feelings of anxiety, beta-blockers like propranolol to stabilize the heartbeat and anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines.
How to do exposure therapy for agoraphobia?
Repeated – Exposure must be repeated, it is important that you practise facing your feared situations many times until you feel comfortable in that situation. Prolonged – Stay in the situation long enough for your anxiety to fall by at least 50%, which usually takes between 30 and 60 minutes. In CBT, the process of facing fears is called exposure – and it’s the most important step in learning to effectively manage your anxiety. Exposure involves gradually and repeatedly entering feared situations until you feel less anxious. How long does agoraphobia last? Many people with agoraphobia make a full recovery after seeking help. But for some people who don’t get treatment, agoraphobia can last years. The panic attacks caused by the condition usually last between 10 and 30 minutes, although some people experience shorter or longer incidents. But in general, it is possible to perform exposure therapy yourself. If you truly believe you can handle exposure therapy, it is one of the most powerful ways to reduce anxiety.
Can you self treat agoraphobia?
A number of self-care strategies can be helpful in healing from agoraphobia. These can include psychoeducation (learning more about your condition), calming meditations, breathing exercises, and visualisations of desired outcomes. Agoraphobia can involve a combination of fears, other feelings, and physical symptoms. These can all vary from mild to severe. Some people can manage agoraphobia symptoms by following a routine. For others, it can be severely debilitating. Without treatment agoraphobia tends to get worse with time. The more you avoid, the more you are likely to avoid in the future. Agoraphobia can develop as a complication of panic disorder, an anxiety disorder involving panic attacks and moments of intense fear. It can arise by associating panic attacks with the places or situations where they occurred and then avoiding them. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that causes an intense fear of becoming overwhelmed or unable to escape or get help. Because of fear and anxiety, people with agoraphobia often avoid new places and unfamiliar situations, like: Large, open areas or enclosed spaces. Crowds. If left untreated, agoraphobia can have dangerous consequences. “Depression is more likely in people with agoraphobia and the longer it’s left untreated, the higher the risk,” says Rosenstein. He explains that other anxiety disorders, psychiatric conditions and health problems are also more likely.
Can agoraphobia be cured without medication?
While a specific agoraphobia cure is unknown, people with this condition who undergo talk therapy (and medication in severe cases) can learn how to overcome their symptoms. Additionally, many people tend to compare social anxiety and agoraphobia, but the two are very different. The goals of therapy for phobia are to reduce or eliminate the symptoms so you can perform daily activities, including making and managing money, taking care of your household, and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships. The most common treatment that includes exposure is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). A key element of CBT is talking about thoughts, fears, and feelings. I often find that simply talking through thoughts about a topic exposes people to their fears. The DSM-5 states that remission rates without treatment are quite low, with averages estimated at about 10%. Agoraphobia is also associated with an increased risk of developing comorbid major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), and substance use disorders. Lifetime Prevalence of Agoraphobia Among Adolescents An estimated 2.4% of adolescents had agoraphobia at some time during their life, and all had severe impairment. The prevalence of agoraphobia among adolescents was higher for females (3.4%) than for males (1.4%).